


Project X

by expressyourselfanytime



Category: DCU (Comics), Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Additional Warnings in Author’s Note at the beginning of the chapter, Angst, Bisexual Kara Danvers, CADMUS - Freeform, Developing Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, F/F, F/M, Kryptonian - Human Hybrid, Lena Luthor Needs a Hug, Lesbian Lena Luthor, Minor Kara Danvers/Mon-El, Science Experiments, Supercorp baby, Tags May Change, Tags will change as the work progresses, Trigger Warning: Abusive Relationship, Trigger Warning: Oppresive Relationship, Warning: Mon-El portrayed as oppressive, Warnings May Change, not sure if it needs trigger warnings but I'm gonna put them anyways, only at the beginning, slowburn, sorry for that
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-26
Updated: 2017-09-19
Packaged: 2018-09-26 23:05:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9928046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/expressyourselfanytime/pseuds/expressyourselfanytime
Summary: Lillian wanted to create a hybrid, half Kryptonian, half human. The project had two branches. The one was modifying genetically a full grown human and merging his human DNA with Kryptonian. The second branch was creating a baby without genetic modification, its DNA a natural mix of both sets.They 've created it before, why wouldn't they again?Jeremiah held the little boy in his embrace, looking straight into his eyes. The boy stared back at him, giving him a huge grin and with his eyes filled with excitement, happy his caretaker had come back.Cadmus had actually succeeded before, Lillian had her own personal hybrid for years. Although, the project hadn't produced anything worthy for years. Until now.Now things were different.___________OR the one that I suck at summaries.This story follows the show till 2x12. After that it uses some elements, but others not. As for example, no Mrs. Mxyzptlk, but it visit briefly a Kara Danvers/Mon-El relationship.It focuses a lot on Jeremiah Danvers and his journey inside Cadmus.





	1. Somewhere Deep In Cadmus' Labs

**Author's Note:**

> The story kinda happened, this is my first multichapter ever, I'm going with the flow, no idea how it will progress, please be kind.
> 
> Also, English is not my first language and this is totally unbeta'd.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

He turned furiously around the corner and kept walking down the corridor, heading to the main cafeteria. He had fifteen minutes for lunch and then off to the next lab. Guards, other scientists and doctors were already swarming the cafeteria. 

The room was extremely silent, given how many people were inside of it. Nobody talked much, heavily armed guards posted around the cafeteria, glaring aggressively anyone who dared to let his eyes wander a little.

He got in the line to receive his food-tray, while trying to control his breathing and his speeding heart rate.

Another one dead. Another Project X-1, dead. This one was the 23th. None of their alterations worked, none of his work made it, again. Every Kryptonian hybrid they attempted to make, sooner or later, died. The longer they lasted was 24 hours. 

They still hadn’t figured it out, what exactly could make the DNA alteration permanent and also keep the subject alive. They were this close, at least that was what they thought, but the last one had just died in Jeremiah’s hands for once again. He thought he had it figured.  
Everything, by now. The perfect formula, the perfect variations to create a healthy, adult Human-Kryptonian hybrid. 

But they didn’t. They missed something again.

And now, with only a fifteen minutes brake in between just to eat, they had to continue working on human(well, not exactly) lives, to keep tampering with their biology and trying to sustain to life aliens, hybrids and innocent creatures, victims of Cadmus obsession against aliens. 

Jeremiah though, today, would continue with a slightly different project, not that soul-staining as the other scientists would. He finished up his meal and got up to get to the next lab. 

Although he just lost a life and would pay for that later, he was actually excited for his next destination. This one was a different experiment, a successful one till now, and although Jeremiah was one of its greatest fighters against it, now he was the main one responsible for it. Well, on the scale you can be in charge, in an organization like Cadmus. He’d never manage to fully control this project, but he could imprint and teach it the best he could, for as long as he was allowed to.

He reached his destination, followed by his two guards, who stood by the door while he used his biometric signature to open the door and enter the lab. The guards waited patiently outside, on their posts.

The scientist entered the low-lighted lab and walked towards the pod-like silhouette on the far side of the room. He reached something that looked like something between a pod and a crib. He leaned closer and looked inside, watching the little creature wrapped in its blankets, moving slowly, an indicator that it was stirring awake. _He_ , he was stirring awake.

Jeremiah stepped away from the crib and started moving around, tiding up the lab a little bit, preparing his desk and his notes, while waiting for today’s results to pop up into the monitors on the left side of the room.

Some moments later, the start of a cry reached his ears. He moved fast back to the crib and picked up the baby. 

“Hey, little guy.” He said with a soothing voice. 

Jeremiah held him against his shoulder, and paced around the room for a while, humming in a low voice, trying to reassure him. He then lowered him against his chest, looking the little boy straight into his eyes. The boy stared back at him, giving him a huge grin and with his eyes filled with excitement, happy his caretaker had come back.

The boy was barely two months old, and he already showed obvious traits of his parents.

Jeremiah felt his heart clenching, as he observed the glimpse of blonde hair on top of his head and the huge, innocent smile of his adopted daughter on the little boy, the emerald color of his eyes and the intense look of the woman who dared to defy her own mother in order to not stain her soul like the rest of her family. 

The man held the small, half Kryptonian – half human, baby in his embrace, tears escaping his eyes, while he tried for once more to stabilize his breathing. 

That little creature was the success of some long and painful experiments, a very important and successful checkpoint on Jeremiah’s long “collaboration” with the Luthor matriarch. Lillian, after all these years, had managed to create, naturally, a baby half alien - half human, using the two sets of DNA she’d secretly obtained, the finally successful Project X-2. 

The baby was sleepy again, but he’d been chewing Jeremiah’s shirt for a while now, so he decided to entertain him a little, before he put him back to sleep. He tickled him on his side, the small creature trying to avoid Jeremiah’s hand, laughing, while trying to continue chewing the shirt. 

“Gosh, if you like it that much, I can give it to you.” The scientist said playfully, hoping a little the small baby in his embrace. The small half-Kryptonian giggled and gave Jeremiah one more of his already-radiating-happiness smiles.

He hugged the baby tighter, silently swearing on his life that he’ll protect him no matter what, the son of the last daughter of Krypton and the contrasting Luthor.

Kara and Lena’s son. 

 

**_~ 3 years ago. ~_ **

 

_Jeremiah stared at the liquid on the microscope slide in front of him._

_He’d been studying Kryptonian biology for years now, but he never thought he’d also do it for purposes like those he was being forced to now. Yet, here he was, preparing for one of the most horrendous and unethical things he’d ever done in his life. Two more scientists were in the lab with him, two more people were assigned to this Project. Lillian didn’t leave them many options, not she ever did._

_It wasn’t difficult to imagine how she might had obtained Superman’s blood, given that Lex probably had many of those little tubes, filled with blood, scattered around his arsenals. Jeremiah didn’t know exactly when or how this had happened, but he did see it coming, sooner or later._

_He glanced once more at the heavy door, like some miracle would happen, but like always for the past nine years, it didn’t._

_He didn’t know the scientists around him, and he didn’t plan on getting to know them, because few people actually stayed a long around here, him being one of the few exceptions._

_He raised his head back up and introduced himself to his coworkers. They introduced themselves as well, and after an awkward pause, Jeremiah decided to get back to work and opened a discussion between the three of them, focusing on the task at hand._

_Lillian wanted to create a hybrid, half Kryptonian, half human. The project had two branches. The one was modifying genetically a full grown human and merging his human DNA with Kryptonian. The second branch was creating a baby without genetic modification, its DNA a natural mix of both sets._

_The Project itself seemed quite challenging and demanding, if they were being honest. Although, Cadmus had actually achieved the first one before, Lillian had her own personal hybrid for 8 years now. She didn’t have any more Kryptonian blood though, until now. That was what got those experiments back on running._

_That was the reason he was in this lab now, and this would be the only thing he would get involved with, until the moment they would succeed on both fronts, or he’d fail enough times that the Luthors would decide they didn’t need him anymore._

 

**~ Present ~**

 

Project X-2 was sleeping peacefully in his pod-like crib. 

_Kor-El Luthor_ , Jeremiah thought to himself. 

He found it more and more difficult to keep calling him P-X2, especially with how much of his daughter he was already seeing in the baby. So, he’d thought of using a real name. He couldn’t keep the lifeless names or tags they used in the organization, and he thought that having a Kryptonian name would be fair for both the baby and his mother. Although he couldn’t call him like that freely, that was the name he used to himself or when he was alone with the baby.

There was one good thing in Cadmus facilities. He didn’t used to think it was good though, until very recently.

In some specific labs, there weren’t cameras or microphones. The Luthor matriarch was so paranoid about her experiments and researches ( _I guess it runs in the family_ , Jeremiah thought to himself) that she freaked out only in thinking about them being on record. 

There was a whole department entirely dedicated on the fastest way to wipe out every shred of evidence in the entire organization, and there were some amazingly complicated mechanisms behind almost everything, ready to physically destroy it if needed be, in order to make sure that no evidence or information would escape Cadmus’ hands, neither digital nor physical. 

Kor-El’s lab was one of those. Lillian wouldn’t dare to have on record neither of the two Project X’s branches. 

That left Jeremiah free to speak out loud to Kor-El and tell him whatever he wanted. He was still somehow monitored by his guards or his reports, but, he still could communicate and imprint on the baby, hoping that whatever the head of Cadmus planned for the child next, wouldn’t be that strong to remove Jeremiah’s entire existence and imprint on him.

Jeremiah’s role in all this, was the scientist’s who runs tests on the subject, checks his progress, monitors his growing up, tests his powers(or if they have presented at all) and also teaches the baby(the basics, like walking, talking etc.), helps him practice and get stronger, and generally takes care of him and grows him up. Until Lillian decides otherwise.

One more good thing was that she was so confident about her brainwashing methods, that she didn’t care that much what Jeremiah did with the child. 

He had no idea what had happened with the original hybrid, but he knew that Lillian had completely changed the person underneath the experiments. Everyone in this entire facility seemed to believe the head of Cadmus could actually wipe someone’s soul out of the existence. 

The stories about the original hybrid and the Luthors were many, and they were like legend, urban myths to get even more scared while working. Especially, when most of the scientists inside the facility wouldn’t last more than a year. Jeremiah had been there long enough to know that most of these stories were ghost stories for keeping everyone in line. 

Although, he knew Lillian better than many in the facility and he had even worked alongside her. So, he knew that while most of those stories probably weren’t real, they did hold inside of them a certain truth. Lillian was able to go to extreme lengths to accomplish whatever she had in her mind. She would almost always deliver. And she would always rise up to the challenge. 

So yeah, she could have done every single thing they were saying about her. 

Jeremiah was really afraid for the boy, but he knew he still had time; Lillian didn’t care about a three months old baby. She needed him strong enough to endure her methods.

He’d figure something out along the way.


	2. Somebody To Unconditionally Confide In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I know I have been gone for a long time and I'm sorry for that. I had many things planned for this fic, one of those was, and still is, to visit a slightly abusive relationship between Kara and Mon-El. The problem is, when I started writing about that, I had many realizations of an abusive (psychologically) relationship I had been in myself for the past 2 years. I had to drop the fic because I couldn't handle it emotionally. 
> 
> I'm back now though, I've worked things out for myself, and I actually have so many things in my mind for this story. I've already planned the next 4 chapters, and the next 2 are already written. 
> 
> I will try to not dwell too much in the relationship between Kara and Mon-El, but I also wanna get through the story how easy is to find yourself into a relationship like that and how anyone can be be found into one.
> 
> I have no idea how often my updates will be, or if I'll have even a resemblance of a schedule, due to uni lessons starting and life getting in the way in general.
> 
> Again, sorry for the 7-month-absence. 
> 
> Enjoy reading, I hope you like it!
> 
> Thanks to this awesome lady, niamholivia, for being my beta reader!
> 
> P.S. 1: Warnings have changed.
> 
> P.S. 2 : I'm not sure it's needed, but I'll put it anyways just in case.  
>  **Trigger Warning: The discussion between Kara and Lena could be provoking(regarding abusive relationships). Kara's descriptions, thoughts and feelings mostly.**

She wasn’t used to having people drop by, especially for simple social visits. So, Kara Danvers in her office right now, was a bit of a surprise. It would have been a bigger one a few weeks earlier, but after everything that happened with her mother, Lena was starting to get more and more used to these spontaneous visits from her friend.

Kara brought with her coffee and some muffins for the both of them, but after giving Lena her cup, she’d left everything on the table in front of the couch and she had started nervously pacing alongside the table. Lena realized in that moment that something was bothering the blonde, quite much actually.

“Kara?” she asked with a low voice, while moving for the couch across the room. Kara didn’t react to her voice, still pacing and fidgeting more and more nervously with the strap of her bag.

Lena sat on the couch and watched her friend carefully. Kara raised her head up and looked Lena in the eyes. Her mouth started moving, trying to form a sentence, and after a few attempts she managed to do it. 

“Do you think I’m selfish?” Kara asked with unreadable eyes.

Lena stared at her friend dumfounded. Her jaw slightly dropped and she froze for some seconds. She realized quickly her slip though, and managed to recollect herself as fast as she could, with a concerned look on her face. She stood up from the couch and went closer to her friend who was still extremely fidgety, the desperation, while waiting for her answer, more and more evident in her face.

“Of course not.” Lena said with a strong voice looking Kara straight in the eye. Her eyes widened at the statement, a flash of disbelief crossing her eyes but moments after relief overflowing them.

“Kara, how could you even think that? You’re the most selfless person I’ve ever met.”

Kara’s eyes left Lena’s face.

“Are you sure you’re not saying that because I was the only one who believed in you when your mother escaped?” her voice broke in the middle of the sentence but she managed to get it back on track quickly.

Lena didn’t let her shock overflow her this time. She started to sense that something was going on. Kara wouldn’t doubt herself that easily. And as she had proved, she would never double doubt what Lena would tell her.

“Yes, I’m sure.”

She moved a little bit closer to Kara, her hand slowly reaching for the reporter’s arm and gently rubbing it, trying to soothe the blonde a bit. The girl was stiff at first, but after a while, she relaxed into the touch.

“Darling, is everything okay? What has gotten into you?” Lena asked her with a soft voice, concern evident in her eyes. Kara moved her eyes back on Lena’s, watching her carefully.

She huffed loudly.

“I….I…It’s nothing, don’t worry, it’s stupid.” She moved on her legs and focused on the table.

“I shouldn’t have asked you that.” She said, a nervous laugh painting the sentence.

“Kara please, stop.” Lena said. 

“Look at me.” Kara looked at the CEO and found determination in her eyes. 

“You can tell me anything you need, anytime. You don’t bother me, you’re not an inconvenience for me. And not just because of what you’ve done for me, but because I care about you. You know that, right?” Lena’s eyes didn’t falter not even once while saying all these. She kept her eyes on Kara’s, saying everything in her most strong and caring voice, she needed to get the blonde to understand that she meant every single word and she would be there for her.

Kara didn’t take her eyes off the brunette’s, a loud gulp her only response.

She inhaled deeply. “I know. I think I’ve made some bad decisions the past month.” her voice trembled.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Lena asked.

“Yes, actually.” The reporter said with a clearer voice this time.

“Okay…Do you want to talk about it now?” The brunette asked again.

Kara looked at Lena with wide-open eyes. “Lena no, you don’t have to-”  
“Kara Danvers. Do. You. Want. To. Talk. About. It. Now?” Lena asked her again, emphasizing every single word of her sentence expect from the reporter’s name.

Kara had again an unreadable look in her eyes. She then lowered her head but kept her eyes on the CEO.

“I’d like that.” She said sheepishly.

“Give me a moment.” Lena was quick with her answer, smoothly moving to her desk and calling her secretary from the intercom. 

“Jess, please clear the rest of my schedule for the morning. I’m not available for anyone, unless it’s an ultra emergency.”

“Yes Ms. Luthor.”

“Thank you, Jess.”

Lena turned back to Kara and saw the blonde looking at her in slight awe. Lena moved across the room, opting for sitting on the couch, Kara following her cue.

“You can share everything that’s been bugging you freely now, we have the rest of the morning for ourselves if you’re up to it as well, and we can also order some food later for lunch if you want to.” 

“Um…thank you.” Kara muttered, looking at the CEO.

“You can thank me by expressing yourself freely, Kara”. Lena gave her a warm smile.

“Right.” Kara cleared her throat, trying to compose herself better. She was sitting on the edge of the couch, still fidgeting, but she seemed a little bit more relaxed now. She made a pause, trying to organize her thoughts, or so Lena assumed, and after a while she started talking.

“You remember Mike from the interns, right?” 

“Oh right, yeah, at Catco.” Lena said while Mike’s face flashed through her mind.

“Yeah, although, he doesn’t work at Catco anymore. Well we’ve been friends for a while now; he is not from here, he..uh..moved in National City some months ago. I was the one who helped him adapt and get used to the life here, taught him about the city etc. That’s how he ended up at Catco, but he has been job hopping lately. He currently works as a bartender in the bar we frequent.” Kara looked at Lena waiting for some kind of confirmation to keep talking.

“Okay, so, what about him?” Lena asked her after some moments passed.

“Well, we grew closer, although we had some character differences in the beginning. He attempted to learn more about what I’m doing and, from a point and on, he wanted to get more and more involved in my life and my work. It turned out he had feelings for me and he pursued me. After a while I realized that I also harbored feelings for him and we got together.”

Kara paused for a moment, and then she continued speaking.

“I think that I didn’t realize it at first, because I’ve been for too long scared that I can’t balance a romantic life with my work, and I always prioritized my career. But now, I think that maybe it’s time to get over that fear and start trying more. Maybe I can eventually balance these two; maybe I can have it both. Anyway, that’s how we ended up together.” Kara was letting her eyes wander around while she spoke, and she landed them again on Lena while she was finishing her sentence.

The brunette didn’t like how Kara stated her decisions, language wise, but she kept her thoughts to herself for now and nodded to her friend to continue.

“Mike sometimes can be…a little selfish and well, bossy. He also sometimes acts like I’m a damsel in distress and doesn’t let me solve my problems on my own. I know that he does that because he cares about me deeply, but sometimes it can get really stressful to make him realize that I exist outside of him as well. The past month we started doing more things together. That made some situations a bit more stressing, because we don’t have a balance. He easily forgets that I can do things on my own and I don’t always need him around. It’s really sweet from him to be like that, but sometimes it’s tiring for me and I feel guilty for feeling like that. For not letting him help me all the time. Also, now that we spend so much time together, when I’m busy with work, it’s even worse because all of these get heightened. I’m still doing what I was afraid I’d do, but it’s been only a month, I haven’t stabilized everything yet. Although, I’m afraid he is right, I need to get better at this, we’re not spending enough quality time together and I can’t have a good relationship with him if I don’t manage my time better. And to be honest, I need to let him help more, it’s his way of showing that he loves me, that he cares about me, I might be used to be effective of my own, but that’s his way of showing his affection.” Kara trailed off after rambling for a while. She looked at Lena, seemingly lost in her thoughts again. 

Lena felt that Kara needed to talk, needed to speak some things out loud to sort her thoughts better. What she’d heard already she didn’t like it one bit, but that wasn’t a case that her opinion mattered. 

It was a case that she needed to be a good listener, someone Kara could vent to; someone who wouldn’t judge Kara and would let her sort her thoughts out herself.

Kara had zoned out, so Lena attempted to get her back on the conversation. 

“You seemed pretty upset when you came in; did something happen to put you into that mood?”

Lena saw the blonde returning back to her. 

“Actually yes…We got into a fight because I was working late again yesterday. Mon..Mike wasn’t particularly happy about that, but he came by my place when I got home to spend some time together. Although, it didn’t turn out like that, because he was grumpy and I was extremely tired -I told him that- , but he wanted to get my attention and discuss our days and tell me about the bar but I honestly couldn’t keep my eyes open. So after a while I got extremely sleepy. He got irritated and he made a snarky remark. I couldn’t handle it at the moment, I said something back and we ended up fighting.”

She made a pause and pouted. Lena noticed that Kara was getting upset. She could see the doubt she spotted before, but now Kara was also irritated. 

_That’s good,_ she thought to herself. 

“He told me once more that I’m selfish. That it’s all about my work, about what I need and what I want to do. It suddenly turned into everything else but the fact that I was too tired. He also said I always want to help others but I don’t help him. Mike believes that I’m not doing a good job balancing my work and him. He went on and on about how he has needs as well, how he’s always waiting for me to get home but I always return tired. He feels hurt, always waiting around for me. He doesn’t easily have the chance to see me, and even when he gets to, I’m not attentive.”

Kara was louder now and she spoke faster, rambling a bit more. 

“I got pissed, I told him that he knows how the situation has, that I’m trying my best to do everything. It’s stressful for me as well. I’m really trying but I can’t help the fact that I’m tired after work, especially lately that Snapper has decided to overwork me. I told him that I always help him and that I’ll try better from now on….” She trailed off, her face painted with frustration. She stopped talking and she seemed to be realizing something. 

There was a big pause, while Lena waited patiently, watching her friend very carefully, always remembering to keep her face stoic and not let her emotions appear.

“Kara dear, may I say some things?” Lena asked hesitantly.

The blonde looked at her and smiled. “Oh God, yes of course, I’m sorry I’ve been rambling all this time. Of course you can, that’s why I’m here anyways.”

“No, it’s good for you to talk about it, to share your thoughts.” Lena reassured. “At least for me, sometimes it helps me understand better what I’m thinking or to realize if I’m being paranoid or not.” Kara nodded, so Lena continued speaking.

“I need to ask you, do you realize what you’re telling me? Do you understand what you’re feeling? Cause what you’re telling me sounds contradicting Kara… I don’t want to be disrespectful, but he knew what he was getting into from the beginning, didn’t he?” the brunette looked at her friend waiting for the answer she knew was coming.

“Yes, he did.” The reporter answered skeptically.

“He knew how you feel about your job and what you do, he also knew about your work hours, as you said he’s been a friend for a while now. He had knowledge of your availability, or, your lack of. So, how can he now, demand more time? More availability? How can he now, ask you to change your priorities?” Lena said with an even tone in her voice.

“You have a point, but I’m the one who said that maybe I can do both.” Kara answered with a frown on her face. 

“That doesn’t change anything Kara. That still doesn’t make it right for him to want more, to get mad that he doesn’t have it. The fact that you wanted to try to make it work is good for you, and if you can do it, that’s great for you, but if you don’t, that’s okay too. It’s a change that you’d make for you, not for him, or because of him. Because you thought that **you** could have it both.”  
Lena had gotten more passionate now, and Kara seemed to have all of her attention on what the brunette was saying.

The CEO continued her line of thought. “On his end, he knew what he was getting into from the beginning, and if he still wanted you, he should be okay with it and respect that. It’s your choice Kara, not his. He made his choice when he started this, he can’t change you or your priorities because he doesn’t like them enough.”

“But, shouldn’t I prioritize him more? Shouldn’t I be more attentive to the person that I’m with? He’s also hurting with all this.” The blonde countered. 

“Kara, being with someone isn’t about what you should do, how you should react or how you were supposed to be. It’s not about the things you must do, or you are supposed to do. Being with someone is about **wanting** to be more attentive, to prioritize over something else, to do things for the other person. Because you actually want to do them, not because you were supposed to. It is about wanting to stay the night in, cuddle, watch some shitty reality show and being content with that, not what couples normally do while you’d prefer to be outside, be with someone else or do something else.” 

Lena paused for a moment, letting what she just said sink in. The reporter was paying close attention to her while she spoke. She resumed speaking.

“Being in a relationship is something that makes your heart light, adds up to your day, makes you more motivated, happy and content. Like you found someone to share bits of yourself and everything that makes you more motivated in your life. It’s not about feeling obliged to someone, or having a person next to you that makes you doubt yourself, adds up to your insecurities and fears. It’s not about being with someone you always keep trying to satisfy, but never actually achieving to do it, or you feel you constantly disappoint them and you are never enough for them. That’s not a healthy relationship. Not only a romantic one, any kind of relationship actually.”

Lena finished talking and observed discretely her friend. Kara looked at her. 

“You have a point actually.” She said thinking about it. “No kind of relationship should be like that. I mean, the point of relationships in general is to make you even more hopeful for life, right?” Kara said ending that with a small smile.

It was Lena’s turn to be skeptical. She furrowed her eyebrows for a second and thought about what Kara had just said.

“Well, I guess you have a point as well. About the point of relationships in general.” 

“If you think about it, we socialize in order to not be alone. We want to enjoy another being’s presence, to have a belonging. We want to have fun, to laugh, to do stuff with someone else. It makes you want to go on living, to remember that you are not alone in all this mess. It’s just us people tend to forget about that and we usually take so many things for granted.” Kara had by then a big smile onto her face.

“Hmm…I guess I haven’t thought about it that way.” Lena said thinking about it. She looked at the blonde and couldn’t help the contagious smile that formed on her face as well. 

They stared at each other smiling until Kara spoke again.

“Uhm..Thanks. That actually helped.” She said looking at Lena sheepishly.

“It’s nothing really.” The brunette brushed it off. “What are friends for, right?” Lena added, and Kara laughed at that.

The ringing of the reporter’s phone cut them off, and she reached for her bag to get it.

 

Snapper had called to send Kara to follow a lead on a story but she ended up spending another half hour in Lena’s office, discussing lighter subjects. When she finally decided to stand up and leave L-Corp, she felt a lot better than she had lately. 

She thanked the brunette again and they arranged their second lunch date with Kara promising that she’d make up for Lena’s time for that morning.

The CEO watched her friend walk out of her office with a little longing already creeping up inside her. She was worried for Kara, and she didn’t like how her light seemed to have been dimmed lately. She didn’t like that her friend had come into her office in that state, but she knew she couldn’t actively do anything. As much as it hurt her, watching the blonde hurt and frustrated like this, she knew the best she could do, for now, was to be a good listener. Someone Kara wouldn’t be afraid to speak to and express her frustration. 

Lena had to wait for now, let her friend think it through. Kara had to understand on her own if she was happy with Mike or not, to realize she deserved better. 

The CEO sighed and got back to her desk, she had a lot of paperwork to go through.


	3. An Opportunity For A New Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, third chapter is up, and the next one is already under works, a Jeremiah one! I hope I'll manage to post it soon enough!
> 
> Special thanks to my beta reader, niamholivia!
> 
> P.S.: For anyone who is wondering about the kind of music I'm referring to in this chapter(and also the kind of music I listened to while writing it), it's mainly instrumental hip hop, jazz hop and lofi music. If you want recommendations of mixes, channels or djs, you can contact me on Tumblr @ [expressyourselfanytime](http://expressyourselfanytime.tumblr.com/)!

She opened her eyes as the violent sound of the alarm tore through the silence of the room. She lazily stopped the device from beeping, and she shuffled a bit in her sheets. It was still dark outside, too early for the sun to come out yet. She got out of bed moments later, moving for the bathroom to wash up and take a short shower. 

As soon as she was done, she moved to the other room of her house, where the kitchen and the living room could both be found. She had the morning shift at the coffee shop today and she had to ready the place before it opened, so she had to be there at six o’clock in the morning.

She had a little more than one hour till it was time to get going. She got to the living room area and set up for her daily meditation. 

The ex-soldier wasn’t a stranger to meditating, but making it part of her daily routine was a bit of a new development. _Peaceful coping mechanisms,_ she thought. They seemed to be working, if the past two years were any indication. Healing her kind of damage was a difficult and slow process. She knew she was on the right path though.

After she was done with her 20 minute meditating session, she got up, moved to the kitchen and started cooking some eggs and bacon for her breakfast, while the coffee brewed itself. She put on some slow instrumental hip hop music to start her morning and, as soon as the cooking was finished, she sat on the stool and enjoyed her breakfast.

As soon as she ate, she went through her e-mails while sipping her coffee, some notes and she also made her grocery list for the day. She finished up quickly and went to get ready.

10 minutes to 6 o’clock she was walking out of her building’s door and was heading to the coffee shop. The store was a few blocks away, so she walked her way there, every day. She had actually chosen that in purpose; she had figured that working near your home was ideal for leading a simple and peaceful life. So after she chose the perfect spot to open her neighbourhood coffee shop, she picked an apartment nearby, for herself. 

She soon reached the back door of the store. The darkness of the night had just begun cracking and Lyan started setting up the place immediately.

There was a strange peacefulness when she worked that way. Alone, without people around her, with low instrumental music playing in the background, moving things around and cleaning, being a bit more physical. She quickly realized that working like this, gave her an odd sense of harmony and peace. A serenity she had longed for a while now, something she had been searching for a long time and she had managed to find only after she opened that coffee shop.

Not long after, Gus arrived at the store. 

“Good morning Boss.” He said with his usual half smile, half I’m-still-sleepy face.

“Good morning Gus.” Lyan answered with a small smile while waving at him.

“I’m gonna get dressed and I’m gonna start with the machines, okay?” He asked.

“Okay.” Lyan said and moved further into the store while Gus went to the back rooms to get changed.

Around 7 o’clock, the place was already swarming with people; everybody rushing to get their morning cup of coffee, before they checked in at work. The coffee shop was a simple neighbourhood store that resided in a corner of Metropolis. It was a small, warm place, build to serve as a safe place for anyone who needed it. 

You could find encouraging or comforting quotes in almost any corner of the store, some of them even hidden in peculiar spots, on purpose, so they might cheer you up accidentally. The coffee shop also had corners filled with books and some bookcases here and there, stuffed with books for exchanging or borrowing. Tables to sit and read or work more isolated were provided, and also, in the winter, you could find many blankets all over the chairs and the sofas.

It was meant to be a small haven, a safe place for those who needed it, especially loners or people who tried to find a little bit of peace or quiet in this big and loud city. 

The coffee shop was designed and decorated by Lyan herself. She had used of course a little bit of help from here and there, but it was her little details and small notes that made the difference. She had poured many feelings into that place, mainly her need to create a space that could nurture a broken soul, no matter how much broken it was. Who knew, maybe alongside everyone else, she could heal back her own heart as well. 

Lyan was in the storage room to grab some more coffee beans because they were running out when the door opened as one more customer walked inside. 

“Hey, look who’s back in town! Morning Lane.” Gus sounded from the front where he was serving the customers.

Lyan perked up at the name, and, carrying with her two bags, made her way back in the front. 

“Good morning to my favourite barista as well. How have you been, Gus?” Lucy said smiling to the young man, while she sat on a stool at the bar.

“Did a certain someone miss me?” Gus said playfully to the brunette. “I’ve been great, thanks for asking. The usual?” he then added, on a more serious tone.

“I think everyone would miss you Gus, you make the greatest coffee in the state, and yes, the usual please.” Lucy answered, smiling wider to the barista.

Lyan emerged at that moment from the door leading to the back rooms.

“I thought I made the best coffee in the state little Lane.” Lyan said mock offended to the brunette.

Lucy jumped at her voice and turned to the woman with an even wider smile. 

“Are you sure I’ve said something like that?” She asked, raising her eyebrow, “Cause I’m pretty sure Gus is the best barista in town.” The Major insisted.

“Thank you Lucy, she’s too proud to accept she is second best!” Gus bragged playfully while brewing coffee at the espresso machine.

“May I remind you, young man, who taught you to make a decent coffee in the first place?” Lyan got her serious face on and glared at Gus while she filled some jars.

“Hmm…. I think it was a weird old lady, with the inability to accept that she is second best in making coffee. What do you think, Lucy?” Gus answered grinning.

The brunette was simply watching them with a content smile on her face, she had missed this. 

Lyan raised her eyebrows at Gus’s answer. “What have I done, I’ve created a monster.” She said frightened to a smiling Lucy. 

 

~ * ~

 

The Major took her coffee and left the store to go on with her day, promising to drop by later in the afternoon. She would come after closed hours, when Lyan would have returned to the coffee shop. The latter would spend many hours there, even if she wasn’t working; reading, redecorating, working on ideas and various projects. It was like her second home. 

It was early in the evening when Lyan let Lucy in, the younger brunette moving for her favourite spot while Lyan went to make two cups of coffee.

“It’s been a while Luce, how have you been?” Lyan reached the table said brunette was sitting, placing two mugs on it and finally sitting down.

“It’s been…weird, I must admit. And crazy, a lot of crazy, honestly.” Lucy looked at her half smiling.

“You’re avoiding the question, and you’re getting me worried.” Lyan chuckled. “Should I be?” she continued, frowning a bit.

Lucy looked at her chuckling as well. “No, you shouldn’t, we eventually got everything under control.” 

The older brunette relaxed at that. “Okay…That sounds reassuring. What did you get yourself into this time little Lane?” Lyan continued and sipped from her mug.

“Well, as per usual” Lucy said while raising her eyebrows, “most of them are confidential-”

“Of course they are” Lyan cut her smiling knowingly,

“but, what I can tell you, is that it is the usual D.E.O. and army drama, and, a bit of Super drama as well.” Lucy finished.

“Does that mean you’ve met Supergirl?” the brunette asked intrigued.

“Yes I have.” Lane responded and took a sip from her coffee.

“How is she in person?” came the second question.

“Hmm…She’s pretty great actually. She’s a bit stubborn, I guess it runs in the family,” the Major commented and they both chuckled at that, “but she’s fierce, faithful and full of hope. And that’s really refreshing.” Lucy finished.

Lyan seemed to be processing the new information she had received. “I’m glad to hear that.” She then turned to the other brunette, changing the subject. “So, what brings you back to Metropolis, Lucy? Is it D.E.O. or J.A.G. business? I’m not sure with whom you’re running at the time.” The coffee shop owner chuckled. 

“Huh, with none of them anymore,” the younger woman said, “and I actually have some news to share with you.” She added excitedly.

“Oh, you do now? I’m all ears.” Lyan smiled at her.

“I also have a proposition I believe you’ll like.” Lucy added, a bit more restrained.

“Well then, speak already ma’am!” The older brunette looked expectantly at her.

Lucy got a bit serious, but Lyan could still see the excited glance in her eyes she couldn’t quite hide, not from her trained eye.

“I’m moving to National City for good.” She announced, trying to anticipate Lyan’s reaction.

“Finally!” The brunette responded to the news excitedly.

“Wait, aren’t you shocked?” Lucy questioned surprised.

“To be honest, not at all.” The ex-soldier chuckled. “I thought you’d make that move eventually, you haven’t stepped your foot in Metropolis for months, and that is very unlikely for you. I mean, even Gus was used to you disappearing for a while for some mission or a case, but never more than a month.” Lyan looked at her friend smiling and continued. “I think it’s a good decision. Getting out of Metropolis for good might be a wise move for you.” She finished her sentence and took another sip from her mug.

“That’s what I’ve been thinking as well. Many things may have happened in National City, but that just made me surer I want that change in my life.” Lucy said determined.

“That’s awesome, I’m really happy for you Lane.” Lyan continued as she watched said woman sip her coffee. “Have you thought anything about a job, or you’ll leave that to your irresistible charm after you get there for good?” the older brunette smirked at Lucy.

Lucy chuckled loudly at that. “Actually, yesterday I got accepted from L-Corp, as their general counsel.” Lucy answered, watching Lyan carefully.

“L-Corp? Wait, did they move their headquarters already?” the other woman questioned.

“You mean, you don’t know?” the Major asked a bit surprised.

“Well, no, I stopped keeping tabs on LuthorCorp lately.” Lyan lowered her head but kept eye contact with the younger Lane, “I thought after junior Luthor took charge, it would be a good step for me to stop doing that.” Lyan answered sheepishly.

Lucy went silent for a moment, processing what she just heard. “I’m really proud of you, El.” she then said with a gentle tone in her voice. 

They stared at each other for a bit, until Lucy spoke up.

“Well, it’s L-Corp now, and yes, Lena Luthor moved their headquarters to National City. I heard they had job openings, so I sent them my resume, I got an interview and now you’re looking at their new CLO.” The brunette said, her excitement slowly slipping into her voice. 

“That’s actually a very good opportunity for you Lucy,” Lyan said proudly, “you can make your fresh start the way you always wanted; and you’ll make it alongside one of the biggest companies in the country. This could be huge for you.” She smiled, sharing her friend’s excitement.

“That’s what I’m hoping for as well.” Lucy grinned, “The other thing I wanted to talk to you about is related to National City too.” She then added.

“A day full of big news from the little Lane folks, gather around!” Lyan said loudly and laughing.

Lucy chuckled at that, and after some moments, she gathered herself a bit, cleared her throat and continued. “I was thinking you can make a fresh start too, if you want.”

Lyan looked at her confused. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, this is a good opportunity for you as well. You could move to National City too. Who knows, maybe you could expand your business there.” The Major’s face had turned more serious now.

Lyan stared at her with an unreadable look on her face.

“Look” Lucy said, “I don’t mean it some way, I’m not asking you to join me in National City. I’m in no place to be with someone right now, and especially in a I’m-asking-you-to-come-with-me-in-a-new-city way. I’m just saying, this is a good opportunity for you as well. Maybe leaving Metropolis is the next step for you. This city has a lot of bad blood for both of us.” They both chuckled at that. The younger brunette relaxed a bit and continued. “We grew pretty close with everything that happened between us, and we work pretty well together. I could use a good friend like you in the city. It doesn’t have to mean anything more than that.”

Lyan sat back in her chair, contemplating what Lucy had just told her. The latter was sipping from her coffee while patiently waiting for her ex-girlfriend’s response.

“To be honest, getting out of Metropolis is something I’ve been thinking for a while.” The older woman confessed, looking at the table in front of her. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m doing pretty well here, and you know how much I love this coffee shop.” she smiled warmly looking around her and continued. “But I’ve come to realize that if I truly want to move on with my life, I won’t manage to do that here. Huh, I think Metropolis has been ruined for the both us.” She chuckled while saying the last sentence, earning from Lucy another chuckle.

“Yeah, I think it has.” The younger brunette nodded.

Lyan sipped from her cup and grew silent. After some moments while she was gathering her thoughts, she spoke again. “Look, expanding the business to National City is a move I’m willing to make, and it makes me feel excited simply from thinking it. It feels like the city of opportunities and change. So, I’m good with that.” She looked at Lucy, examining her. The brunette was silently listening to her friend, sipping once in a while from her coffee.

The older woman continued with her line of thought. “I just want to be clear. This is a good opportunity for the both us, and I don’t want either of us to stand in the way of that. We’re good friends Lucy, falling back to our old patterns won’t be good for either of us.” Lyan finished with a skeptic look on her face. 

“I agree with you, we’re on the same page on that, El.” Lucy reassured the other brunette. “I’m really glad you’ve already been thinking of getting out of here; I’m sure we will be okay.” She finished with a smile on her face.

“In that case,” Lyan said and raised her mug smiling as well, “to a new beginning!”

Lucy raised her mug too. “To a new beginning!” she said grinning.


End file.
